iridescent
by bobtheacorn
Summary: Lance and Allura make a supply run to an alien planet. / platonicvldmonth 2017; day 22, rain shower


-x-

 _iridescent_

-x-

This planet is _hot_. _Lance_ is hot. Born and raised on the beach under the cuban sun, and _he's hot_.

His paladin armour is doing it's best to let him breathe - and these things are great, honestly. They keep you warm enough in cold space and don't smother you in hotter climates, and they hold up against most attacks (explosions and magic galra witch hands notwithstanding). But there's not a whole lot to be done for the glaring face of a really big star that Lance thinks is just a little too close for his comfort. It's not like being near the equator on Earth. It's more like being on Venus, except the ground isn't lava.

It's like the flat heat that bounces back up from the blacktop and just sits there, sweltering.

"How much longer are we gonna be here?" he asks, making an effort to sound mildly interested and not like he's whining. He stops himself again from grabbing at the collar he can't fan to cool himself off.

Allura doesn't appear to be as affected by the heat. She did her chameleon thing, though, so she's adapted to absorb it; a little reptilian-looking, a little thinner and taller, a little more blue, only peppered with white freckles all across her cheeks and nose. She's currently swiping at a high powered clipboard that was proffered to her by the local standing on a box behind the counter.

"No more than a varga, I suppose," she says distractedly, looking up. Her brow creases. "Are you alright? You look flushed."

"Fine, but there might not be anything left of me in this suit after an hour."

He can't decide whether it's hotter standing in the street at the complete mercy of the sun, or under the awning with Allura where there is absolutely zero air flow. The local behind the counter is fanning herself steadily with a paper fan. She's a squat-looking lizard alien with some feelers and a wide, smiling mouth that reminds Lance of those axolotl things. She says something in her funny language that Lance, without the aid of the translator in his helmet, misses. Allura, who doesn't need one, offers Lance an encouraging smile, "Emb'k says the heat should be dispersing soon. Just try to endure it a bit longer, Lance. We'll be heading back to the castle as soon as our supply ship arrives."

She redirects her attention to the clipboard once more and Lance fights a sigh, pivoting to look around the market. Piloting the supply ship back to the castle, which is once again in need of some extensive repairs, was the reason he came down with Allura in Blue. That and - he's not going to lie - maybe he misses his Lion. Blue's presence in his mind has always put him at ease. Red is exciting, but temperamental (like somebody else he knows) and it's a lot to handle sometimes.

As far as planets go, this one doesn't have a whole lot to offer except for the exhausting heat. It's 95% desert with very little atmosphere. It's big, and it's blue because of some weird pigment in the soil (which of course Pidge asked for a sample of, because they're Like That). The air is a little thin, and dry, but full of interesting smells. The market street Lance is observing is barely more than a dirt road, packed under constant use and cracking in the heat. It winds in between open shops and food vendors, where locals are bustling about their daily activities, and then it dips downhill and ends abruptly at the edge of a wide plain.

This drops from a sudden shelf and extends off into the distance, and looks a lot like a beach, minus the water, which is really a shame. Lance thinks beyond it he can see some huge mountains looming, but it's hard to tell in the haze of heat that stands wavering over the plain in a multitude of colors.

It really would be an amazing view - if his body wasn't in the process of liquefying.

Lance has just resolved to hike back to where Blue is and seek shelter in the cockpit when the ground beneath his feet moves. It feels like the entire planet shifts slightly to the left, then back, so subtle that if a sudden feeling of vertigo didn't grip him Lance might wonder it happened at all. None of the locals even bat an eye. The daytime chatter goes on, money and items and food passing hands, kids laughing and rushing past. Only Allura looks around in alarm, too.

It's not the first tremor they've felt since they arrived, but it was definitely the biggest.

Emb'k twitters slightly - a laugh - and says something else; Lance crams his helmet back on, "... are so jumpy. Relax, relax."

" _Relax,_ " Lance yelps nervously, "What is that?!""

There's another rumble underfoot, bigger and longer. It actually throws Lance off balance and he stumbles, arms windmilling. Allura catches onto the edge of the counter, looking puzzled out beyond him and the sprawling market, over the plain. Lance twists to look, too, but he doesn't see anything other than shimmering air.

"It must be the geyser," Allura says uncertainly, "If the Kerians aren't worried, then there's no reason we should be."

She tries to smile, but doesn't seem very convinced, and Lance definitely isn't.

"Right."

The next rumble is smaller, but it lasts longer, growing steadily in intensity. Just when Lance's legs are starting to go numb, something underground bursts. A huge tremor wrecks minor havoc on the market; a nearby awning that wasn't secured collapses, things topple from countertops to shatter on the ground, people stumble and fall. There are a few shouts, mostly whoops of laughter and excitement, and the streets are flooded with more people than ever - kids streaming toward the plain with their skinny arms in the air, adults following in their wake with just as much enthusiasm, some of them bearing cups and bowls.

Lance yanks Allura out from under the shop awning before it decides to mimic its neighbor and come down on top of her. Emb'k twitters again and wanders out with her fan, unbothered by the fuss.

This time, Allura is smiling for real when she points, "Look!"

It takes Lance a while to process what he's seeing.

At first he thinks it's a mirage. It's gotta be. The heat has finally turned his brain to jelly and he's imagining things.

The whole horizon past the mountains is nothing but a wall of water shooting upward. The "geyser" is so enormous that Lance can't even comprehend it. Craning back, gripping onto Allura's arm, he can't even see where it disappears into the hazy atmosphere. The sun gets caught in the rush of water, the mist around it, and throws light out across the plain. At length, an iridescent spray of colors hits the market; pink, blue, green, and everything in between. Colors Lance has never seen.

Accompanying it is a roar like the cavernous thunder of a waterfall and a rush a damp air.

Lances, standing there with his mouth wide open, pulls his helmet off with shaking hands.

It figures that's just when Emb'k decides to say something. Allura, smiling and looking up with her hand slanted against the slight glare, translates, "The water is boiling when it emerges, but it should be quite cool by the time it's come back down. Emb'k says this phenomenon happens only once every deca-phoeb - it's how they come by most of their water in this hemisphere. She says it will form a lake here all around the geyser that will sit quite a while before it goes back underground."

As weirdly, fascinatingly alien as that is, Lance only gets hung up on the one thing:

"It's coming back down?"

"Yes," Allura says, "Though I imagine it will take a few ticks."

So they wait. The entire market - the entire hemisphere - is waiting. Every face is turned toward the sky, several hands lifted up in anticipation. Lance actually _feels_ the temperature drop, the air goes into his lungs cold and crisp. The light-reflected colors vanish under a shadow that falls across the plain, a sudden darkness that is deep and encompassing, and _so_ familiar that Lance doesn't realize that he's holding his breath until the first thick droplets of water hit the canvas roofs with a soft and scattered pattering.

Lance hears it hitting the ground around him, sees it sending up tiny puffs of blue and making divots in the soil before it all comes down in a sudden torrent. The rain is heavy and warm. It soaks his hair and runs down his face, into his open mouth.

The water is running rivulets in the ground before what is happening really sinks in for Lance.

"Allura!" His voice hits that pitch that's a toss up between panicked and elated. It's only when Allura sees the wild grin on his face that she relaxes. _"It's raining!"_

"Is _this_ what you call rain?" Allura asks eagerly, "I had no ide-ah!"

Lance grabs both her hands in his and swings her around. He's laughing and jumping and Allura, probably thinking it's some funny Earth custom, follows his lead with only the smallest hint of reservation. Over the sound of the water, and the Kerian's cheers and laughter, and splashing feet, a mechanical roar makes itself heard. Turning toward where they left Blue, all the way on the other side of the market, Lance thrusts his arms into the air and yells back, holding the note for as long and as loud as he can.

Lance rests his hands in his hair, pressing out the water for whatever good it does. The downfall shows no sign of stopping. Warmth and joy rumbles over the connection he still shares with Blue, and it spreads from his chest all the way down to his toes. Allura must feel it too, or something like it, because she's smiling. Her hair is coming undone, sticking to her wet cheeks and twisting in her earrings.

"She must be excited about the water." Allura pauses, catching the wistful look on his face, then asks, "Is it like this on Earth?"

Lance shakes his head. He puts his hands in the air again, palms up, and lets the water wash everything else away while Blue rumbles contentedly at the edge of his consciousness.

"It's nothing like this on Earth."

-x-

(A/n) Written for platonic vld month; day 22 - rain shower. My boy Lance deserves everything good in this world, y'all! Thanks so much for reading!

-BobTAC


End file.
